“NYSE Technical Issue Causes Berkshire Hathaway Stock to Plummet 99.97% – What Really Happened?”

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) experienced a technical issue on Monday that caused trading halts for some major stocks and led to Berkshire Hathaway’s shares plummeting by 99.97%. The NYSE has since resolved the issue, with all impacted stocks reopening and systems operating normally.

According to NYSE, the technical problem was related to industry-wide price bands designed to prevent stock prices from fluctuating wildly. These price bands, published by the Consolidated Tape Association’s Security Information Processor (SIP), triggered trading halts on up to 40 symbols listed on NYSE Group exchanges.

NYSE clarified that the glitch was not the result of a cyberattack, as initially speculated. Instead, it was attributed to a technical issue with the price bands. The exchange announced that it would cancel all “erroneous” trades for Berkshire Hathaway that occurred between 9:50 am ET and 9:51 am ET at or below $603,718.30. This decision is final and not subject to appeal.

Market participants and experts have expressed skepticism about NYSE’s explanation for the bizarre trades that occurred. Joe Saluzzi, co-founder of Themis Trading, questioned the validity of the technical issue causing such drastic price movements. He highlighted the abrupt drop in Berkshire Hathaway’s share price from $620,700 to $185.10 without any logical explanation.

Despite the technical issues at NYSE, the broader stock market was not significantly impacted. Most halted stocks and ETFs were trading within a narrow range, with only minor fluctuations. However, Barrick Gold and NuScale Power experienced significant price discrepancies during the trading halt, with both stocks showing drastic declines before returning to normal levels.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is closely monitoring the situation and engaging with market participants to ensure market integrity. The incident has raised concerns about the reliability of market infrastructure and the need for robust safeguards to prevent such disruptions in the future.

In conclusion, the NYSE technical issue highlighted the vulnerability of financial markets to unforeseen glitches and the importance of maintaining transparent and efficient trading mechanisms. As the investigation into the incident continues, market participants are urged to remain vigilant and adhere to best practices to mitigate potential risks in the future.